Film about John Lennon's young years in the works

HOLLYWOOD — For all of us Beatles fans, the recent news that the Weinstein Co. had acquired "Nowhere Boy," a coming-of-age tale about John Lennon's tumultuous teenage years in Liverpool, England, was cause for high hopes, especially because the script, written by Matt Greenhalgh, offers a bracingly unsentimental portrait of the fabled artist as a young scamp -- sensitive but bitingly sarcastic, smart but achingly soulful, wildly ambitious but without a ruthless bone in his body.

The script has a host of the most vivid moments from early Beatles mythology, but always plays them in the right key, capturing Lennon's artistic drive and caustic wit.

When Lennon and Paul McCartney first meet, at a Quarrymen rehearsal at the St. Peter's Church Hall, a friend shows up with McCartney, who has come armed with a guitar. The friend says, "Paul plays too." Lennon immediately responds: "With himself?" After he gets a round of giggles, Lennon takes the edge off it, adding "I do. All the time. Good for the wrist muscles."

But for Harvey Weinstein, who turned 57 Thursday, the acquisition of the film -- now shooting in and around Liverpool -- was more personal. For the veteran film impresario, being involved with a Beatles project was the equivalent of coming full circle.

When Weinstein was a skinny, long-haired, bell-bottomed teenager, he worked at Apple Records' New York office. The highlight of his job involved running errands for McCartney and picking up Lennon at the airport. For a 16-year-old Beatles fan, full of Hollywood dreams, it was nirvana.

"I did everything that needed to be done," Weinstein said. "Carrying boxes around, mailing out records, working backstage at 'The Concert for Bangladesh.' I remember picking up Lennon at the airport one night, who flew in with Eric Clapton, and I had them both in the back of my car."

The day of the Bangladesh benefit concert, a limousine full of Apple staffers pulled up outside Weinstein's home to take him to the show. "As I went out of the house, my mother, in true Jewish mother fashion, yelled out, 'Don't forget to brush your teeth and wash your face!' which destroyed whatever semblance of cool I might have had forever," he recalled. "But being around the Beatles, I learned that I was never going to be cool, because they had a monopoly on it. They were the most relaxed guys about everything. I mean, the whole world could be falling apart, and they'd still be totally cool about it."

After Weinstein and his brother Bob launched Miramax, one of their first releases was "Rock Show," a 1980 concert film from one of McCartney's Wings tours. Weinstein has stayed friendly with McCartney over the years, friendly enough that when Weinstein began to organize "The Concert for New York" the day after Sept. 11, the first person he called was McCartney.

"I told him, 'You know, if you do it, everyone else will follow,'" he said. "I have to admit that I still pinch myself that having started out as Paul McCartney's assistant, I'm now Paul McCartney's friend."

So what's going on with "Nowhere Boy"?

The film, which is several weeks into production, follows Lennon from his days as a cheeky 15-year-old to the moment, in 1960, when the Beatles take off for Hamburg, Germany, where they transformed themselves into a world-class band. The young Lennon is played by newcomer Aaron Johnson, and Lennon's Aunt Mimi, who raised him, is played by Kristin Scott Thomas. The film is directed by Sam Taylor Wood, who has been a hot commodity since making the 2008 short "Love You More," about a two late-1970s-era Buzzcocks fans.

The film is slated for an end-of-the-year awards season release. "I haven't even called Paul yet, but I know that he's read the script," Weinstein says. "God knows what it means to him, having lived through it all. But it really hits close to home for me."

If Lennon were still alive, he'd probably be appalled to hear so much sentiment applied to his life. So let's end with another moment from the script, taken from a scene in which Lennon and McCartney first appear onstage as the Quarrymen. Introducing their version of a Chuck Berry song, Lennon says, "I present to you ... Mr. Paul McCartney!" Relieved, because he never knows what Lennon might say next, McCartney says, "Thanks, John. Kind words." Lennon's reply: "I didn't mean them."